Mr Liow, who later specified he was referring to aircraft seat cushions and windows, said it remained to be seen whether the latest items found on the island were from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.

"They are little parts, but the debris cannot be verified if it belongs to MH370. It has to be verified by the French authorities," he said.

France is preparing to deploy new air and maritime resources off La Reunion in the search for more wreckage, government officials in Paris said.

"It has been decided, at the request of the president and the prime minister and to respond to the needs of the inquiry, to deploy supplementary air and sea resources to search for the possible presence of new debris around Reunion," the ministers of defence, transport and overseas territories said in a joint statement.

The recovered flaperon, part of a Boeing 777's wing, is being analysed by experts at a military laboratory in the French city of Toulouse in the presence of French, Malaysian, Chinese and American representatives.

MH370 disappeared on March 8 last year, inexplicably veering off course en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

The first piece of direct evidence that the plane crashed in the ocean closed a chapter in one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history.

But exactly what happened remains unknown, and Mr Najib's announcement did not appear to represent any kind of resolution for the families of those on board, most of whom were Chinese.

Yang Jingbo, whose daughter and wife were on the plane, believes the evidence is inconclusive.

"Why is the Malaysian prime minister so eager to make this announcement?" he said.

"There must be a motive. They won't give us data we have requested.

"They showed us evidence our families had bought tickets for that flight, but we want to see video footage of them boarding the plane.

Despite the Malaysian confirmation, prosecutors in France stopped short of declaring they were certain the wing piece came from MH370, saying only that there was a "very strong presumption".

Paris prosecutor Serge Mackowiak said this was based on technical data supplied by both the manufacturer and airline, but gave no indication that experts had discovered a serial number or unique markings that would put the link beyond doubt.

Malaysian experts are convinced the flaperon is from MH370 because a seal on the part matched a maintenance record and the paint was the same colour.

Representatives of manufacturer Boeing confirmed that the flaperon came from a 777 jet, he said, and Malaysia Airlines provided documentation of the missing aircraft.

Mr Mackowiak said in Paris that more analysis would be carried out on Thursday, and a fragment of luggage also found in La Reunion would be examined by French police.

"We appreciate the French team and their support and respect their decision to continue with the verification," Mr Liow said.

Features

With the bank chief executives, chairs and regulators finally set to face the royal commission over the next fortnight, the ABC's Daniel Ziffer reveals the questions he would most like to hear answered.

Ever since banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne's interim report dropped in late September, senior bankers, government ministers and their lobbyists have been agitating for a more sedate, less confrontational approach, writes Ian Verrender.